Forum: County must protect farms, industry

Bill Lamm, chairman of the Karl Best Ag Leadership Committee, welcomes participants to the annual Karl M. Best Agriculture Forum held Wednesday at Wayne Community College. Wayne County farmer Craig West spoke about challenges facing farmers including overregulation, high taxes, a shrinking amount of farmland and the need for a reliable and legal work force. The forum is named in memory of Best, a prominent county farmer who served on numerous agricultural committees and received awards and recognition for his services.

A reliable and legal work force, overregulation, high taxes and a shrinking amount of farmland pose serious challenges to an agriculture and agribusiness industry that annually pumps more than $763 million into Wayne County's economy. Speaking Wednesday morning at the...